Shivnarine Chanderpaul

Not many realize that Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been around in international cricket since 1994 but such is the story of one of Caribbean's most talented yet unsung heroes. He is neither very attractive to watch (with his front on batting stance) nor entertainingly quick but over the years, Chanderpaul has grown to become the rock and holding force of a fragile batting line up. Chanderpaul's first Test century came in his 19th match, after scoring as many as 15 half centuries in the previous 18 matches. He spent most of the initial phase of his career under the shadows of the legendary Lara, and became a lone warrior after Lara's retirement.

His batting stance has been described as being 'crab-like' and ugly to watch; however, one cannot deny that Chanderpaul has been the sole anchor of a depleting West Indian batting unit.

Although known for his doggedness, Chanderpaul has the record for the 4th fastest Test century. He smashed a ton in just 67 balls against the visiting Australians in 2002. He also starred in West Indies' record chase of 418 over Australia in Antigua, scoring 104 runs. He was named the captain of the team to face the visiting South Africans in 2005 and celebrated it by becoming only the second player to make a double century on debut as a Test captain, scoring an unbeaten 200 in Guyana.

But Chanderpaul's tenure as skipper didn't yield good results, for him and the team. He relinquished the job in 2006 to concentrate on his batting. The move certainly seemed to help him, as he enjoyed tremendous success in the seasons that followed. In the 2007 tour to England, he averaged close to 150 with the bat. This included unbeaten tons in the third and fourth Tests. Though the series was lost, Chanderpaul's stellar show reduced the margin of defeats considerably.

Though his game is more suited to Test cricket, Chanderpaul enjoyed good success in ODIs as well. He made significant contributions in West Indies' successful campaign at the ICC Champions trophy in 2004. Despite being a middle order batsman, Chanderpaul opened in the Champions trophy in 2006 and enjoyed good success, helping West Indies reach the final of that edition.

His good show continued in 2008, when he amassed 442 runs in 3 Tests against Australia at home. His performances were recognized and rewarded, when he won the Wisden Cricketer of the Year and ICC player of the year awards for the year 2008.

His strength in the years that have followed is his ability to adjust himself to any situation, thus making the best use of his ability.One of the best examples of his longevity is the 2012 series against Australia in which he ran up scores of 103*, 12, 94, 68 and 69, for an aggregate of 346 in five innings. The 103* in the first innings at Kensington Oval saw him replacing Brian Lara as the highest run scorer ever at the ground. Also the scores of 68 and 69 at Roseau helped him becoming only the second West Indian after Brian Lara to score 10,000 Test runs. Later in 2012, he opted to play for the shortest format of the game, representing Uva Next in the inaugural Sri Lanka Premier League.

In November 2013, Chanderpaul played his 150th Test against India at Mumbai which also coincided with Sachin Tendulkar's 200th Test match. He remains 7th on the list of players that have made the most appearances in Tests.

He also held fort for West Indies amidst tricky conditions in New Zealand, compiling 256 runs including a ton and a fifty.

Interesting fact: In 1999, Chanderpaul shot a policeman with a gun after he mistook him for a burglar. However, he was not charged due to the mistake.

By Cricbuzz staff

As of April 2014